In his weekly parsha commentary, Rabbi Eliyahu refers to "Palestinians" as Amalek. Rav Eliyahu, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, said that the law to erase any memory of Amalek is very relevant in our generation. And that just as Amalek attacked the weary on the roads, on their way, so to the modern day Amalekites attack us with bombs on the roads. Rabbi Eliyahu calls for the annihilation of them-their children and their families-not merely the sealing off and destruction of the property and houses of the terrorists. Voice of Judea Headlines. 08 March 2004 editor@voiceofjudea.com
Origins of the Amalekites
Gen 36:9 Here are the names of Esau's descendants, the Edomites, born to
him in Mount Seir:
10 Descended from his wife Adah, born to her son Eliphaz were:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Amalek (born to Timna, Eliphaz'
concubine).
13 Esau also had grandchildren from his wife Basemath. Born to her son Reuel
were: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah.
15 Esau's grandchildren became the heads of clans, as listed here: the clan
of Teman, the clan of Omar, the clan of Zepho, the clan of Kenaz, the clan
of Korah, the clan of Gatam, the clan of Amalek.
The above clans were the descendants of Eliphaz, the oldest son of Esau and Adah. TLB
Israel's encounters with the Amalekites
Ex 17:8 But now the warriors of Amalek came to fight against the people of
Israel at Rephidim. 9 Moses instructed Joshua to issue a call to arms to
the Israelites, to fight the army of Amalek.
"Tomorrow," Moses told him, "I will stand at the top of the hill, with the
rod of God in my hand!"
10 So Joshua and his men went out to fight the army of Amalek. Meanwhile
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 And as long as Moses
held up the rod in his hands, Israel was winning; but whenever he rested
his arms at his sides, the soldiers of Amalek were winning. 12 Moses' arms
finally became too tired to hold up the rod any longer; so Aaron and Hur
rolled a stone for him to sit on, and they stood on each side, holding up
his hands until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua and his troops crushed the
army of Amalek, putting them to the sword.
14 Then the Lord instructed Moses, "Write this into a permanent record, to
be remembered forever, and announce to Joshua that I will utterly blot out
every trace of Amalek." 15 Moses built an altar there and called it
"Jehovah-nissi" (meaning "Jehovah is my flag").
"Raise the banner of the Lord!" Moses said. "For the Lord will be at war
with Amalek generation after generation." TLB
The 12 Israeli spies: Num 13:27 This was their report: "We arrived in the land you sent us to see, and it is indeed a magnificent country-a land 'flowing with milk and honey.' Here is some fruit we have brought as proof. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their cities are fortified and very large; and what's more, we saw Anakim giants there! 29 The Amalekites live in the south, while in the hill country there are the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites; down along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in the Jordan River valley are the Canaanites." Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb is a different kind of man-he has obeyed me fully. I will bring him into the land he entered as a spy, and his descendants shall have their full share in it. 25 But now, since the people of Israel are so afraid of the Amalekites and the Canaanites living in the valleys, tomorrow you must turn back into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea." TLB
Num 24:12 Balaam replied, "Didn't I tell your messengers 13 that even if
you gave me a palace filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the
words of Jehovah, and could not say a word of my own? I said that I would
say only what Jehovah says! 14 Yes, I shall return now to my own people.
But first, let me tell you what the Israelites are going to do to your people!"
15 So he spoke this prophecy to him:
"Balaam the son of Beor is the man whose eyes are open! He hears the words
of God And has knowledge from the Most High; He sees what Almighty God has
shown him; He fell, and his eyes were opened:
I see in the future of Israel, Far down the distant trail, That there shall
come a star from Jacob! This ruler of Israel Shall smite the people of Moab,
And destroy the sons of Sheth.Israel shall possess all Edom and Seir. They
shall overcome their enemies. Jacob shall arise in power And shall destroy
many cities."
20 Then Balaam looked over at the homes of the people of Amalek and
prophesied:
"Amalek was the first of the nations, But its destiny is destruction!"
TLB
A Command to Israel: Deut 25:17 "You must never forget what the people of Amalek did to you as you came from Egypt. 18 Remember that they fought with you and struck down those who were faint and weary and lagging behind, with no respect or fear of God. 19 Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the Promised Land, you are utterly to destroy the name of Amalek from under heaven. Never forget this. TLB
Gideon's delivery of Israel from Midian & Amalek: Judg 6:1 Then the people of Israel began once again to worship other gods, and once again the Lord let their enemies harass them. This time it was by the people of Midian, for seven years. 2 The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelis took to the mountains, living in caves and dens. 3 When they planted their seed, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring nations came and destroyed their crops and plundered the countryside as far away as Gaza, leaving nothing to eat and taking away all their sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 5 These enemy hordes arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count and stayed until the land was completely stripped and devastated. 6 So Israel was reduced to abject poverty because of the Midianites. Then at last the people of Israel began to cry out to the Lord for help. TLB
Judg 6:11 Joash's son, Gideon, had been threshing wheat by hand in
the bottom of a grape press-a pit where grapes were pressed to make wine-for
he was hiding from the Midianites.
12 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him ... 14 Then the Lord turned
to him and said, "I will make you strong! Go and save Israel from the Midianites!
I am sending you!"
Judg 6:33 Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring
nations united in one vast alliance against Israel. They crossed the Jordan
and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came
upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet as a call to arms,
Judg 7:12 The vast armies of Midian, Amalek, and the other nations of the
Mideast were crowded across the valley like locusts ...17 "When we arrive
at the outer guardposts of the camp," he told them, "do just as I do. 18
As soon as I and the men in my group blow our trumpets, you blow yours on
all sides of the camp and shout, 'We fight for God and for Gideon!'" ...19
all shouting, "For the Lord and for Gideon!" ...21 Then they just stood and
watched as the whole vast enemy army began rushing around in a panic, shouting
and running away. 22 For in the confusion the Lord caused the enemy troops
to begin fighting and killing each other from one end of the camp to the
other, and they fled into the night ...23 Then Gideon sent for the troops
of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh and told them to come and chase and destroy
the fleeing army of Midian. 24 Gideon also sent messengers throughout the
hill country of Ephraim summoning troops who seized the fords of the Jordan
River at Beth-barah, thus preventing the Midianites from escaping by going
across. TLB
Saul's disobedience in not killing the king of the Amalekites: 1 Sam
15:1 One day Samuel said to Saul, "I crowned you king of Israel because God
told me to. Now be sure that you obey him. 2 Here is his commandment to you:
'I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for refusing
to allow my people to cross their territory when Israel came from Egypt.
3 Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalek nation-men, women, babies,
little children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys.'" 4 So Saul mobilized
his army at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand troops in addition to
ten thousand men from Judah. 5 The Amalekites were camped in the valley below
them. 6 Saul sent a message to the Kenites, telling them to get out from
among the Amalekites or else die with them. "For you were kind to the people
of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt," he explained. So the
Kenites packed up and left.
7 Then Saul butchered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east
of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but killed everyone
else. 9 However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and
the fattest of the lambs-everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They
destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. TLB
1 Sam 15:10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11 "I am sorry that I ever made
Saul king, for he has again refused to obey me." 11 Samuel was so deeply
moved when he heard what God was saying, that he cried to the Lord all night.
12 Early the next morning he went out to find Saul. Someone said that he
had gone to Mount Carmel to erect a monument to himself and had then gone
on to Gilgal. 13 When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him
cheerfully.
"Hello there," he said. "Well, I have carried out the Lord's command!"
14 "Then what was all the bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen I heard?"
Samuel demanded.
15 "It's true that the army spared the best of the sheep and oxen," Saul
admitted, "but they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God;
and we have destroyed everything else."
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last
night!"
"What was it?" Saul asked.
17 And Samuel told him, "When you didn't think much of yourself, God made
you king of Israel. 18 And he sent you on an errand and told you, 'Go
and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all
dead.' 19 Then why didn't you obey the Lord? Why did you rush for the loot
and do exactly what God said not to?"
20 "But I have obeyed the Lord," Saul insisted. "I did what he told me to;
and I brought King Agag but killed everyone else. 21 And it was only when
my troops demanded it that I let them keep the best of the sheep and oxen
and loot to sacrifice to the Lord."
1 Sam 15:22 Samuel replied (Saul), "Has the Lord as much pleasure in your
burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better
than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than
in your offering the fat of rams to him. 23 For rebellion is as bad as the
sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now
because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being
king." TLB
David and his six hundred men set out after the Amalekites: 1 Sam
30:8 David asked the Lord, "Shall I chase them? Will I catch them?"
And the Lord told him, "Yes, go after them; you will recover everything that
was taken from you!"
9 So David and his six hundred men set out after the Amalekites. When they
reached Besor Brook, two hundred of the men were too exhausted to cross,
but the other four hundred kept going. 11 Along the way they found an Egyptian
youth in a field and brought him to David. He had not had anything to eat
or drink for three days and nights, so they gave him part of a fig cake,
two clusters of raisins, and some water, and his strength soon returned.
13 "Who are you and where do you come from?" David asked him.
"I am an Egyptian-the servant of an Amalekite," he replied. "My master left
me behind three days ago because I was sick. 14 We were on our way back from
raiding the Cherethites in the Negeb, and had raided the south of Judah and
the land of Caleb, and had burned Ziklag."
15 "Can you tell me where they went?" David asked.
The young man replied, "If you swear by God's name that you will not kill
me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them."
16 So he led them to the Amalekite encampment. They were spread out across
the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast
amount of loot they had taken from the Philistines and from the men of Judah.
17 David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them all that night
and the entire next day until evening. No one escaped except four hundred
young men who fled on camels. 18 David got back everything they had taken.
The men recovered their families and all of their belongings, and David rescued
his two wives. 20 His troops rounded up all the flocks and herds and drove
them on ahead of them. "These are all yours personally, as your reward!"
they told David. TLB
The Amalekite who killed Saul, God's appointed king: 2 Sam 1:6 "Because
I was on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning against his spear with the enemy
chariots closing in upon him. 7 When he saw me he cried out for me to come
to him.
8 "'Who are you?' he asked. "'An Amalekite,' I replied. 9 "'Come and put
me out of my misery,' he begged, 'for I am in terrible pain but life lingers
on.' 10 "So I killed him, for I knew he couldn't live. Then I took his crown
and one of his bracelets to bring to you, my lord."
11 David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news.
12 They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan,
and for the Lord's people, and for the men of Israel who had died that day.
13 Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, "Where are
you from?"
And he replied, "I am an Amalekite."
14 "Why did you kill God's chosen king?" David demanded. 15 Then he said
to one of his young men, "Kill him!" So he ran him through with his sword
and he died. 16 "You die self-condemned," David said, "for you yourself confessed
that you killed God's appointed king." TLB
Return to "Israel Neighbors" |